Belgium's most hated man, the convicted child rapist Marc Du-troux, insisted yesterday that he was protecting a schoolgirl from being killed when he abducted and serially abused her, as he clashed dramatically with his victim in court.
The former electrician, on trial over a horrific spate of killings in the mid-1990s, spoke out after 20-year-old Sabine Dardenne asked him why he did not hand her over to the alleged pedophile ring he claims was behind his actions.
"I have acknowledged my mistakes in this affair. I did not give her because I knew that she was going to be killed. When I stay with someone for a time, I end up becoming attached to them," he explained coldly.
PHOTO: EPA
Dardenne, appearing in court again a day after confronting her former tormentor face-to-face for the first time, reacted with barely disguised contempt to the claim.
"I am supposed to say thank-you, if I understand correctly," Dardenne replied, before asking presiding judge Stephane Goux to "make him be quiet."
Dutroux is on trial with three others including his ex-wife over the series of abductions, rapes and murders of girls in the mid-1990s which convulsed Belgium and shocked the world.
Dardenne was 12 years old when she was abducted near the southern town of Tournai on May 28, 1996. She was found on August 15 in a cellar of Dutroux's house in the southern city of Charleroi, along with Laetitia Delhez, who had been held for six days. Delhez was to give evidence later yesterday.
Dutroux, 47, said at the start of his trial last month that he abducted Dardenne on behalf of former businessman Michel Nihoul, who is also in the dock with him.
Dardenne, who has filed a civil lawsuit against Dutroux, on Monday gave the court a shocking account of her 80 days of sexual and other abuse at Dutroux's hands.
Dardenne regained her composure after an emotional start, asking Dutroux in a steady, challenging voice: "Why did you not liquidate me?"
"I acknowl-edge that I abused her. But for me there was never any question of liquidating her," Dutroux said on Monday.
Dardenne described how the manipulative Dutroux made her believe he was actually protecting her from a "wicked chief" who wanted to kill her. Dardenne said Dutroux convinced her that her parents had abandoned her after refusing to pay a ransom.
She said she even thanked him when stepping out of the concealed cell into the arms of a police officer on the day of her rescue.
Eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune allegedly died of starvation in Dutroux's squalid home near Charleroi while he was serving a prison sentence for a vehicle crime. It is alleged that two Flemish teenagers, An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, were also murdered. Dutroux blames his fellow defendants for their deaths.
Testimony from the two surviving victims is seen as crucial to an agonized and unfinished debate over whether the defendant was a "lone predator" or was part of a wider pedophile network, possibly involving leading figures from Belgian politics and society.
BOMBARDMENT: Moscow sent more than 440 drones and 32 missiles, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, in ‘one of the most terrifying strikes’ on the capital in recent months A nighttime Russian missile and drone bombardment of Ukraine killed at least 15 people and injured 116 while they slept in their homes, local officials said yesterday, with the main barrage centering on the capital, Kyiv. Kyiv City Military Administration head Tymur Tkachenko said 14 people were killed and 99 were injured as explosions echoed across the city for hours during the night. The bombardment demolished a nine-story residential building, destroying dozens of apartments. Emergency workers were at the scene to rescue people from under the rubble. Russia flung more than 440 drones and 32 missiles at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so